Saved by the Gun! (Civilian Self Defense News)

2015-12-20 Off-duty officer kills armed robber — "An off-duty Baltimore cop shot and killed an armed robbery suspect who police say tried to rob the officer with what turned out to be a toy gun…. Police said … that the officer fired in self-defense…. The officer, who was not identified, is an 18-year veteran of the department assigned to the special operations unit…. When the suspect asked for a wallet, he reached into his bag like he was getting his wallet. That’s when he shot the suspect because he was pointing a gun at him…. Police determined after the shooting that Moreland's weapon was a realistic-looking toy gun…."

2015-12-14 Armed robbers shot by armed victims — "A robbery suspect is in critical condition after one of his victims pulled out a gun in Houston…. Officers say four people were leaving work at a nearby club Monday morning when three men pulled up in a white car. Witnesses tell police at least two of those men had guns drawn. As the suspects were taking one of the victim's purses, one of the workers reached into his own car, pulled out a gun and began shooting…. Officers say one of the suspects … was shot several times and is in critical condition. Another suspect may have been hit as well, but managed to get away after jumping into a waiting car…."

2015-12-01 Heavily armed robbers sent packing by armed elderly woman store owner — "Surveillance video shows a white Ford SUV backing into a handicapped parking space. Then, one by one, five suspects file into a … jewelry store. The masked men then attempt to rob the store at gunpoint…. It was a quick in-and-out, 15 seconds to be precise. As two of the suspects armed with handguns trained their weapons on employees and a single customer, the three others opened pillow cases and demanded cash. But barely half a second later, they would leave empty-handed, chased out by one very angry store owner…. She fired two rounds from her handgun towards the suspects, which caused them to flee the store. And flee they did, bumbling and stumbling into each other as they clamored to escape the store owner's fury…"

2015-11-30 Man attempting robbery while posing as hotel employee detained by a guest with a gun — "A man was arrested on burglary charges after he posed as a hotel employee to enter a soldier's room Monday afternoon, according to police…. A guest, who happened to be an enlisted Army soldier, noticed a man checking the plumbing in the hallway. Then the man asked to enter the guest's room and inspect the plumbing. Police said the man's act was convincing, and after putting his dogs away, the guest let him in. The man entered the room, pulled his hoodie over his head, and displayed a knife. The soldier quickly grabbed his own gun and talked to suspect onto the ground. The suspect had a pistol in his front waistband, according to police, but did not try to get it once he was detained. Officers arrived and confirmed the suspect, 43-year-old Phillip McCoy, was not a hotel employee. He was arrested for first-degree burglary and other related charges."

2015-11-29 Crowbar-wielding robber shot by concealed carry holder — "Tulsa police say a man leaving a Burger King was forced to shoot another man who approached him with a crowbar in a robbery attempt…. According to police, the man is licensed to carry a concealed weapon and was acting in self-defense. He shot the attempted robber in the right shoulder, TPD says. The man who was shot left the scene in a blue four-door car, witnesses said. Police located the man at a local hospital but said they haven't made an arrest yet."

Second Amendment News & Commentary

2015-08-24 Packing heat in Detroit: Motown residents answer police chief's call to arms — "In a city plagued by chronic unemployment and crime and guarded by a dwindling police force, residents of Detroit are increasingly taking protection of themselves, their families and property into their own hands. Those who do so responsibly have the blessing and backing of Detroit Police Chief James Craig.... The chief's call to arms, which first came in December, 2013, has been answered by thousands of men and women tired of being victims and eager to reclaim their beleaguered city. In 2014, some new 1,169 handgun permits were issued, while 8,102 guns were registered with Detroit's police department - many to prior permit holders who bought new firearms. So for in 2015, nearly 500 permits have issued by the department and more than 5,000 guns have been registered. 'There’s definitely been a Chief Craig effect,' Rick Ector, a firearms instructor who runs the blog Legally Armed in Detroit. 'His support and endorsement has been helpful.' ... Ector said that he and other instructors have seen a steady rise in locals looking to get a permit, to protect themselves either on the street or in their homes. While data showing a relation between increased gun ownership and the crime rate is not available, Ector said legally armed residents are having an effect. 'Home invasions have gone down,' he said. 'A huge reason was that there was a huge spate of homeowners using their guns against intruders. More people have guns and it’s making burglars cautious.'...."

2014-04-05 Kansas legislature approves bill to void local gun regulations — "Kansas legislators gave final approval Saturday to a bill that would nullify city and county gun restrictions and ensure that it's legal across the state to openly carry firearms.... The House approved the legislation, 102-19, a day after the Senate passed it, 37-2. The measure goes next to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.... The measure also would prevent cities and counties from enacting restrictions on the sale of firearms and ammunition, or imposing rules on how guns must be stored and transported. Existing ordinances would be void.... Supporters say a patchwork of local regulations confuses gun owners and infringes upon gun ownership rights guaranteed by the state constitution and the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution...."

2014-04-01 Chicago has lowest Q1 murder total in 56 years — "Chicago's first-quarter murder total this year hit its lowest number since 1958, police say. The first three months of the year saw 6 fewer murders than the same time frame in 2013--a 9 percent drop--and 55 fewer murders than 2012, according to a statement from Chicago Police. There were 90 fewer shootings and 119 fewer shooting victims, drops of 26 and 29 percent respectively, according to police statistics. Compared to the first quarter of 2012, there have been 222 fewer shootings and 292 fewer shooting victims." [Illinois started allowing concealed carry in July of 2013... Firearm crime is DOWN, not up, and once again the predictions and arguments of leftist gun grabbers are shot to shreds.]

2014-02-17 Bloomberg's latest stats on school gun violence ignore reality — "...their statistics are not what they seem. Included in the numbers are suicides. Also included are late night shootings taking place in school parking lots, on their grounds or even off school property, often involving gangs. As 'shootings,' they also include any incident where shots were fired, even when nobody was injured.... Contrary to what many people believe, high school shootings have actually been falling over the last two decades.... Scaring Americans may be Bloomberg's only tool for drumming up support for gun control laws. But it ultimately shows how little faith that gun control advocates have in their case."2013-04-04 NY dad's pistol license suspended over something his 10-year-old son said — A New York father has had his firearms all but confiscated after the Suffolk County Pistol License Bureau suspended his pistol license indefinitely over a perceived threat made by his 10-year-old son and two of his classmates at school....

2013-04-03 Seven-year-old NC boy faces felony charges after accidentally hitting cars with BB gun — A seven-year-old Catawba County boy has been charged with a felony after he struck two vehicles while shooting his BB gun. Grant's parents say the charges stem from an incident in February when he was playing outside his home with his BB gun. They said he began shooting at an abandoned house across the street, but he struck two cars that were passing by.

2013-02-21 Campus rape victim says gun-free zones empower criminals — "Tragically, the victim, a concealed-carry permit holder that wasn't carrying her gun because she was in a gun-free zone, was raped at gun point less than 100 feet away from campus authorities. The assailant went on to assault two other women and to kill a third."

2013-02-17 Orwellian gun control bill calls for annual home inspections — "Forget police drones flying over your house. How about police coming inside, once a year, to have a look around? As Orwellian as that sounds, it isn’t hypothetical. The notion of police home inspections was introduced in a bill last week in Olympia."

2012-07-31 Auditing Shooting Rampage Statistics — "The average number of people killed in mass shootings when stopped by police is 14.29. The average number of people killed in a mass shooting when stopped by a civilian is 2.33..."

"When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." — Thomas Jefferson